Night Clubs Reviews

Aug 13, 2001 - Energetic Impressionist Gordie Brown Stars at Harrah's Reno

By Jack Neal

Impressionist Gordie Brown's one-man show is pulling in overflow crowds in Sammy's Showroom at Harrah's Reno Hotel Casino.

Whether Brown, who's show is presented by producer Dick Foster, is a star of long-lasting brilliance is only something time can ordain. What is obvious from my second outing (8/11/2001) with this dynamite entertainer is that he is an enormously gifted stage presence who packs lightning-rod energy into all he does. If he doesn't burn himself out, the wattage he expends on his performances is manic, he should be around as a headliner for a very long time.

Backed by a seven-piece band that really cooks, Brown sizzles his way through almost as many impressions as there are stars in the heavens. Jack Nicholson becomes a waiter in Planet Hollywood (scary). The faces of Robert De Niro and Clint Eastwood show up as craggy road maps on Brown's handsome, crunched up profile.

Tom Jones gets his due. "Ladies still throw their undies at Jones," Brown intones, "only now (with reference to aging, broadening posteriors) they look like flying tents in a wind storm." He does an extended Sammy Davis, Jr., with vibrant renditions of "Mr. Bojangles" and "What Kind of Fool Am I?". The tireless Brown touches bases with Elvis, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, Rod Stewart, Louis Armstrong and Stevie Wonder to name but a very few bases that are touched in his 75-minute show.

Glib, nimble and physically graceful Brown pours on the charm and works an audience mercilously and delightfully. His penchant for the ad lib is virtuosic, opening up ringside spectators to having portions of their lives woven into the fabric of the show's dialog. Lines and new lyrics flow trippingly off Brown's tongue in a barrage of oneliners that're entertaining, fun for the objects of his attention and a bonding experience, star to audience and audience to star, that is boosting Brown's popularity with the public (business is great) to near cult status.

At the core of Brown's talent for mimicry is an excellent singing voice, a face as pliable as Jim Carrey's, a keen acting ability and a marvelous sense of timing. The show has set pieces, but much of it runs on Brown's ability to make things up as he goes along. Which makes playing in the band, running the follow spots and managing his sound an especially edge-of-one's-seat set of collaborations. Happily, all are managed without a hitch.

About the only thing missing from the Gordie Brown Show are any minutes away from playing someone else that would personalize the entertainer and anchor him as a star in his own right. As far as the Gordie Brown Show is concerned it's a minor omission unlikely to bother paying customers. It's an omission, however, that might make show-business longevity more fleeting than it should be for an exceptional performer who has so much talent and knock-'em-dead pizzazz to lay on the line.

The Gordie Brown Show plays Harrah's Reno's Sammy's Showroom Sundays through Tuesdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. For information call 775 788-2900 or 1-800-427-7247.